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Al-Ahed Telegram

"Israel" Expects Strongest Retaliation Yet from Hamas

folder_openZionist Entity access_time15 years ago
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Source: Al-Manar TV, 29-12-2008

Senior army officials are expecting harsher reaction from Palestinian resistance movements in Gaza, but believe the strongest response from Hamas in particular is still to come.

"Operation Cast Lead" is not nearing its end, one senior ‘Israeli' army officer told Yediot Aharonot. The tanks and heavy machinery that have been transported to the Gaza vicinity are already ready for a possible ground incursion, and senior army officials believe that the operation is far from over.

"Hamas was hit hard, but it is still expected to respond strongly. They have no intention of raising a white flag, and we will go all the way and use all the tools at our disposal," a senior army official told Ynet Sunday night following a series of security deliberations.

The defense establishment was surprised by Hamas' relative restraint in response to the ‘Israeli' attacks, but the Home Front Command has decided to maintain its strict policy in the southern settlements and make sure that residents adhere to security instructions.

'Israel' army officials admit that Hamas may still launch a significant response, but say that the organization's current reaction is an indication of weakness. "The blow they sustained at the beginning of the operation damaged their infrastructure, launching pads, arms caches and their commanders' ability to do their job," one official explained.

The same scenario took place in Lebanon during ‘Israel's' war in 2006. The military and political echelon sought to delude the ‘Israeli' public opinion by announcing the destruction of Hizbullah's infrastructure in the first days of the war. However the war continued for 33 day and eventually, ‘Israel' took the most severe blow since its creation in 1948.

'ISRAEL' FOREIGN MINISTRY READIES EXIT PLAN FROM GAZA

The ‘Israel' Foreign Ministry meanwhile released preliminary options for a "diplomatic exit strategy" from the operation in the Gaza Strip. Political sources in Jerusalem say the options are not similar to those available during the Second Lebanon War.

On Saturday evening Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered work to begin on a policy for ending the Gaza operation. The foreign ministry's ideas were discussed at a meeting headed by Olmert political adviser Shalom Turgeman and including representatives of the Foreign Ministry, National Security Council, War Ministry, Military Intelligence, Shin Bet security service and Mossad, according to Haaretz.

The ministry's options for a diplomatic exit strategy from the Strip were first compiled under the instruction of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at the start of the six-month cease-fire with Hamas in June. A special staff led by ministry deputy director-general Yossi Gal analyzed several scenarios in recent months for occupying Gaza.

These models focused on political gains the operation could achieve; the ministry, for example, hopes to increase pressure on Hamas and isolate it politically.

The sources in Jerusalem said the current operation will end differently than the Lebanon war, in which a political solution came in the form of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 to salvage ‘Israel' from Lebanon. "It seems that this time we won't move toward a Security Council resolution," one source told Haaretz. "Moreover, the option of an international force does not apply."

The source added that the options presented thus far are only at a preliminary stage, and the operation has yet to take a definite course.

"There are still actions they want to take in Gaza, only after which will we know which political solution will apply," he said. "Hamas' responses and its own activities in the coming days will have a significant influence on this."


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